(2) Pursuing Health
I firmly believe that health, holiness, and wholeness are intrinsically connected.
I also love how God is not surprised by my limits and needs. In fact, I tend to be the only caught off guard!
It’s one of the reasons I enjoy talking about the following things on campus, because they’re both ‘felt needs’ and also, close to the heart of God
Sabbath / Rest
Yes / No
Defining “This”
We invite students at American University and Georgetown University to participate in Chi Alpha, and we try to cast a wide net as the saying goes. However, once we get to know you, we do our best to have a conversation about choosing one campus ministry and getting involved on the weekend in a local church. Even if we don’t have this conversation with everyone personally, you might’ve heard us mention it in a sermon, Life Group discussion, or on our social media.
We believe (and have since 1999!) that in order to grow deep spiritually and learn to live missionally while in college in DC, that you need both a campus ministry and a local church. It’s not one instead of another, it’s both!
by Alexis Faubel [DCXA at AU]
Malachi served as a prophet from around 430 BC. He was the last Old Testament prophet, and was one of the post-exilic (post exile) prophets to Judah - the southern kingdom of Israel divided after King Solomon’s death. Malachi’s role was to confront the people of Judah in Jerusalem with their sins, and to help restore their relationship with God.
Malachi confronted the people because of their neglect of the temple, and their false worship. He wrote this account with questions dramatically asked by God and His people, showing us that literary styles add to our overall experience, and help our understanding of different books of The Bible.
The main themes of this book can be divided between: God’s Love - even when His people ignore or disobey Him. The sin of the priests - they knew what God required, but their service was insincere and their sacrifices unworthy. The sin of the people - they had not learned the lesson of the Exile, or listened to the prophets because pride hardened their hearts. And the faithful few/ The Lord’s coming - The Messiah will come, and on that day it will be a day of comfort and healing for a faithful few.
Malachi fits in the larger narrative of the Bible giving us a testament of Israel’s unfaithfulness (and our own) that clearly shows the people to be worthy of punishment. However, throughout this message is hope - the possibility of forgiveness through the promise of the Messiah.
A key verse in Malachi is, “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace… But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.” (Malachi 4:1-2) This verse reminds us that there will be a day of judgment, but for those who choose to faithfully follow Him, the sun (Son) will provide healing, and freedom, and satisfaction.
by Rev. Natalie Hill [DCXA at AU]
MONDAY STAFF DEVOTIONALS
Zechariah was written to Judah after they’d just returned from their exile. They’d been prisoners in a foreign land for 70 years and were now looking for the promised Messiah and the rebuilding of their temple that had been destroyed. Because of their pride, self-reliance, idol worship, and all around walking away from their Creator, God had punished them and allowed them to be captured by Babylon. But He also said He’d remain faithful to the promise He made with them, that the temple would be rebuilt, and that the Savior of the world would come through Judah’s line. Now that they’d returned to their homeland, they anxiously awaited this promised Messianic Kingdom
Chapters nine and ten give a glimpse of this Kingdom. Some of the images were probably a bit cryptic to them: “See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (9:9); “He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth” (9:10); “From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler” (10:4). They were looking for a great temple made from the richest resources and a ruler who’d govern the people from an earthly throne, but Zechariah was talking about their king riding in on a donkey and being Himself the cornerstone of the temple.
I imagine hearing these words, the people didn’t know what to think, expect, or even pray for. Would their Messiah come as a warrior king like they expected? Would He establish the earthly peace and prosperity of Jerusalem? Spoiler: He didn’t. He came just as Zechariah said, riding into Jerusalem on a little donkey, only to be crucified a few days later. There was no establishment of an earthly kingdom, and certainly no peace for the city of Jerusalem or the world for that matter.
In my own pride, I can create an image of the God I want in my own head. I expect Him to show up a certain way or do something how I think it should be done (and then get upset when He doesn’t). I wonder how many times I miss Him because I’m looking for the wrong thing. Generations later, the ancestors of the very people who read Zechariah’s words ended up being the ones to kill their promised Messiah and miss out on the fulfillment of the covenant God made with them.
Maybe Zechariah’s point wasn’t about what it’d exactly look like (although the donkey thing is pretty darn specific), but the greater point that Jesus would bring hope for the world. That they were prisoners to the Babylonians, and even more prisoners to their sin, but through Jesus they were now prisoners of hope (9:12). That the Messiah wouldn’t necessarily shield us from earthly arrows but from the even more dangerous spiritual arrows of the enemy (9:15). That more than earthly peace, we get to experience a peace that passes all understanding (9:10).
How often do I limit my understanding of the goodness of God and His promises because I’ve become satisfied with seeing through earthly eyes? Thank you, Lord, that you know what’s best, in spite of me and my human mind.